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Condé Nast’s Epicurious teams up w/ Swirl for in-store iBeacon experience

After announcing it would take advantage of iBeacons deployed by inMarket in grocery stores back in April, today Condé Nast’s Epicurious is announcing a partnership with another iBeacon network to further expand the context-sensitive notifications beamed to its users. Swirl, the same company behind recent beacon deployments in Hudson’s Bay Company and Lord & Taylor, will now deliver location-aware notifications to the Epicurious app via its network of beacons already deployed in retailers:

Starting this week, the in-store digital experiences will be available to users of the Epicurious iPhone app who have opted-in to receiving local content. These in-store experiences are being piloted in select markets, where Epicurious mobile app users will receive culinary and lifestyle content and offers while they shop… Lifestyle brands like Epicurious have the ability to leverage Swirl’s growing network of retail partners to extend their brand experiences with highly relevant content, services and offers that are delivered seamlessly to consumers where and when it is most valuable.

While some retailers have opted to deploy their own iBeacons and accompanying app experience for users, existing apps like Epicurious and others are taking advantage of continually growing beacon networks like those deployed by Swirl and inMarket. As these types of beacon networks continue to grow and partner with more apps, I expect we’ll see more and more retail stores embracing the approach of allowing multiple, third-party apps to offer beacon experiences in-store.

The announcement today didn’t elaborate on which specific stores with Swirl beacons would be sending notifications to the Epicurious app, but Swirl’s current list of retail stores with deployments includes Lord & Taylor, Hudson’s Bay, Alex and Ani, Timberland, and Kenneth Cole stores across North America. 

Epicurious and Swirl Networks Partner to Bring iBeacon-Powered Mobile Experiences to In-Store Shoppers                                    

BOSTON, MA and NEW YORK, NEW YORK; Aug 8, 2014 – Epicurious, a Condé Nast brand, and award-winning lifestyle web and mobile platform, is partnering with Swirl Networks to bring exclusive in-store digital experiences to its broad audience of lifestyle enthusiasts. Swirl is the leading enterprise-class beacon marketing platform, powered by Bluetooth Smart® and Apple’s iBeacon technology. Swirl beacons installed in retail shopping locations throughout North America will be used to trigger delivery of value added lifestyle content and personalized offers to over 9 million Epicurious mobile app users.

Starting this week, the in-store digital experiences will be available to users of the Epicurious iPhone app who have opted-in to receiving local content. These in-store experiences are being piloted in select markets, where Epicurious mobile app users will receive culinary and lifestyle content and offers while they shop.

Swirl’s beacon marketing platform allows leading retailers and publishers to deliver engaging and value-added digital content to consumers’ smartphones while they shop in specific areas of a retail store. Lifestyle brands like Epicurious have the ability to leverage Swirl’s growing network of retail partners to extend their brand experiences with highly relevant content, services and offers that are delivered seamlessly to consumers where and when it is most valuable. With a growing network of Swirl-enabled third party mobile apps, retailers are able to engage and influence a wide audience of in-store shoppers. Mobile app users who opt-in to the service receive digital content and offers automatically based on their specific location and behavior in participating retail stores. Swirl has previously announced retail store beacon deployments at Lord & Taylor, Hudson’s Bay, Alex and Ani, Timberland, and Kenneth Cole stores across North America.

“Epicurious can now make everyday shopping experiences more rewarding by delivering our high quality lifestyle tips, ideas and content directly to consumers at the very moment decisions are being made,” said Carolyn Kremins, SVP and General Manager, Epicurious. “The Swirl platform helps deliver these experiences in contextual and relevant ways while consumers shop. This new capability provides us with the opportunity to create additional value for Epicurious consumers and advertising partners alike.”

“With the vast majority of consumers already using their smartphones while they shop in retail stores, our partnership with Condé Nast will create even greater value for shoppers and retailers,” said Hilmi Ozguc, founder and CEO of Swirl. “Marrying the latest mobile marketing technology with highly relevant content from Condé Nast’s lifestyle brands will help consumers make more informed and inspired purchasing decisions whenever and wherever they shop.” 

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Comments

  1. Art Fricke - 10 years ago

    Great example of how retailers are leveraging expanding partnerships to create new iBeacon experiences for consumers by leveraging existing beacon networks. One whole area that hasn’t gotten much attention is the business to business back-end applications that can leverage these same existing networks for staff tracking, asset tracking, and customer tracking. Basically, utilizing iBeacon networks as true “indoor GPS” with all sorts of applications. For example: http://www.placeforge.com

    Just something to consider when forecasting all iBeacon possibilities!

  2. Great post! There is so much happening on the iBeacon front now, it’s almost unbelievable.
    Though, there is a lot of buzz around beacons, but they are yet to be ‘accepted’ and ‘implemented’ in a big way. This is primarily because there is too little information available about how to do it right. Our Beacon Primer Webinar series is focussed on helping businesses with that. We have one next week, on “How to Deploy and Manage Beacons”. I am sure you will find it interesting. http://www.beaconstac.com/beacon-primer-webinar-serie

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.